[I am blessed (again) to welcome a group of friends to gather around my table once a month so we can wrestle out GOD’s truth together.  We are working through Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth’s book and accompanying study guide, “SURRENDER: the Heart GOD Controls” (Moody Publishers, 2003, 2005).

I pray this series of monthly reflections from our conversations will be a blessing and encouragement that reaches far beyond our kitchen table.]

2025 SURRENDER SERIES (no.7)

The Pattern: The Surrendered Savior

Chapter 6 in our study (centered around Frances Havergal’s hymn, “Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated LORD to Thee”) left us with a lingering question: What does “set apart for GOD alone” look like in the little or not-so-little details of life?

Our new lesson in Chapter 7 taught us to look no further than to GOD’s own Son, our LORD JESUS.  He is our example.  He slept, He ate, He worked hard.  He listened, He noticed, He spoke words of truth.  He offered a healing or comforting touch, He spent time with people, He didn’t avoid tense moments.  

But He also tucked away with the Father for chunks of time, unapologetically.  He stepped away from situations where people were not ready or willing to receive the truth.  He went without food or sleep when the Father’s plan necessitated the lack, trusting the Father to provide for Him and to lead Him through whatever circumstances unfolded ahead of Him.  

Our Savior is both human and Divine.  He never took a step apart from the Father’s direction. His earthly life provided the ultimate example for us as we endeavor to devote our own earthly days to the Father’s will.

The first question in our lesson asked us to think, specifically, about each step of the Savior’s journey with this thought in mind:

How is JESUS the perfect pattern of what it means to live a fully surrendered life? (p 191-192)

Here are some of the thoughts shared around our study table:

In His pre-incarnate existence: JESUS was always at the Father’s side, at His disposal.  He gave Himself totally and freely.  He knew His Father’s driving force from beginning of time was redemption.  It was always the plan and the Son was willing to do whatever was needed for all the pieces that plan to fall into place.

In His incarnation:  Despite the ultimate “culture shock”, JESUS demonstrated faithfulness to GOD’s promise (Emmanuel, GOD with us), humbling Himself to come into a sin-cursed world as a newborn baby.  He experienced palpable human hunger, the sweat of his brow, relational challenges, emotion-filled longings, subjection to human parents, and the harsh reality of the impact of sin on the world He created. 

In His wilderness temptation: JESUS resolved to honor and worship GOD alone, quoting Scripture as His only reply.  He endured cold nights and scorching heat for 40 days, vulnerable to the elements and to the enemy’s attacks.  But with no other distractions, the quiet stillness of the wilderness also created space for Him to hear from the Father. (This reminded us of Hosea 2:14 – “He will lead her to the wilderness and speak tenderly to her there.”)

In His earthly ministry: While carrying out the job the Father gave Him to do, demonstrating the Father’s heart and speaking truth to anyone who would listen, JESUS endured misunderstanding, rejection, exhaustion, and betrayal.  He went to great lengths to reach those who were lost and hurting.  Regardless of personal cost, He displayed indiscriminate love to all.

In Gethsemane: Pushed to His human limits, JESUS cried out to the Father in agony, but bowed to GOD’s plan of redemption.  We have a hard time imagining such obedience; humans will always fail, but He was always steady.  Even when the disciples succumbed to weariness or misguided passion, He patiently challenged them, “can you not watch with Me for one hour” (Matthew 26:40) … “shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11).

In His crucifixion: Our Savior literally allowed His human body to be brutalized, then carried the weight of sin and wrath of GOD against that sin.  Humbly and lovingly for us, in obedience to the Father, JESUS bowed His head.  He yielded His last breath to the Father.  So that Scripture would be fulfilled, He gave up His life before anyone could break a bone in His body.  He didn’t come with tablets of stone (to establish the law).  He came down with flesh and bone and shed His blood to fulfill the law on our behalf!

Nancy Wolgemuth described JESUS’ agony in Gethsemane and His surrender at Calvary so poignantly (p 146):

“The anguish the LORD JESUS experienced as He sweated drops of blood was that He who had never once disobeyed His Father, He who loved His Father and had been by His Father’s side for all of eternity (Proverbs 8:30), He who delighted to do the will of His Father (Psalm 40:8), He who ‘loved righteousness and hated lawlessness’ (Hebrews 1:9) – was about to become sin – the very thing He knew His Father hated!  The surrendered Son of GOD was about to take on Himself all the cumulative, compounded resistance and rebellion of all humans who had ever lived or ever would live on this planet.

So, He cried out, in effect, ‘O Father, my Holy Father, I’ve lived to please You.  And because I love You, if it’s possible, let this cup pass from Me so that I will not have to be sin, so that I will not have to be separated from You.’

The writer of Hebrews tells us that when JESUS cried out, ‘He was heard because of His reverent submission’ (5:7 NIV).  That submission was seen as He prayed in the garden: ‘Not My will, but Yours be done.’  What was He saying?  ‘I delight to do Your will.  That’s all that matters.  Father, I surrender to Your control.’”

Throughout eternity: JESUS humbly bowed His head – now everyone will bow down to Him!  His service for us never ends (Luke 12:37).  He always lives to make intercession for us (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25).  Enthroned at GOD’s right hand, with everything rightfully put beneath His feet, He will choose to subject Himself to the Father, that GOD the Father may be all in all.

Nancy Wolgemuth described this future scene so beautifully as well (pp 151-152):

“The surrendered servant takes His place with His Father on the highest throne in heaven and earth, to rule forever as the Sovereign LORD.  But wait!  (As I read these passages, I’m reminded of the final movement of a symphony that progresses from one triumphant, climactic finale to another.)

One more scene completes this portrait.  In keeping with the character and heart of our Savior-King, His very last action is not best described with loud, crashing cymbals of majestic conquest, but with the rich, lush, sweeping sounds of … surrender:

‘Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to GOD the Father. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet… Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that GOD may be all in all.’ (1 Corinthians 15:24-25, 28)

When all is said and done, the conquering King will turn over to His Father all kingdoms He has overcome – all the spoils of war.  And then, once again, as time gives way to eternity, the Son of GOD, the Almighty, sovereign Creator and Redeemer, the LORD of heaven and earth, will bow His head in a final, magnificent act of surrender.”

.   .   .

For JESUS, surrender to GOD’s will meant suffering at times.  Why do you think JESUS was able, not only to do His Father’s will, but to delight in doing the will of GOD?  How can we learn to delight to obey GOD? (p 192)

The Son knows the Father’s heart more accurately than any other.  He knows the depths of delight it brings to the Father when He gladly fulfills the Father’s will.  Nothing brought Him greater joy than delighting the Father’s heart.  Nearness to the Father will help us to know His heart too, to value what He values, to grieve what He grieves, and to find our greatest joy in fulfilling His plans. 

We thought back to the beginning of our study – signing a blank contract with the LORD.  Because of complete trust in His sovereign will, we grant Him full authority to direct every aspect of our lives.  He has won our hearts and it is our joy to live for Him.  We also find great peace in knowing that our days are orchestrated by His infinite knowledge and wisdom.

Nancy’s earlier reference to the climactic finale of a symphony reminded us of Elizabeth Elliot’s thoughts about willing submission in our summer reading, Joyful Surrender (pp 37-38):

“Willing obedience is a very different thing from coercion.  A college dean once observed that the happiest students on any campus are the musicians and the athletes.  ‘Why?’ I asked.  ‘Because they’re disciplined, and they volunteered to be disciplined.’  People sitting in required lectures are under discipline … but athletes and musicians put themselves under a coach or director who tells them what to do.  They delight to do his will.  They are actually having fun.

GOD does not coerce us to follow Him.  He invites us.  He wills that we should will – that is, He wills our freedom to decline or to accept.  If we want to be disciples, we place ourselves, like the football player and the instrumentalist, under someone’s direction.  He tells us what to do, and we find our happiness in doing it.  We will not find it anywhere else.  We will not find it by doing only what we want to do and not doing what we don’t want to do.  That is the popular idea of what freedom is, but it does not work.

Freedom lies in keeping the rules.  Joy is there too.  (If only we would keep the joy in view!)  The violinist in the orchestra submits first to the instructor.  He obeys the rules laid down by him and handles his instrument accordingly.  He submits then to the music as written by the composer, paying attention to the markings for dynamics as well as to notes, rests, and timing.  Finally, he submits to the conductor.  The conductor tells him, by word or gesture what he wants, and the violinist does just that.

Is there any image of freedom and joy more exhilarating than a full orchestra, everybody sawing, tootling, pounding, strumming, blowing, clashing, and hammering away for all they are worth, under the direction of the immense energy and discipline of a man who knows every note of every instrument in every concerto and knows how to elicit that note exactly so that it will contribute most fully to the glory of the work as a whole?”

.   .   .

What is an issue you are currently facing in which you need to bow your head, a recent occasion when your natural desires were contrary to the will of GOD?  How did the Spirit prompt you to surrender to the will of GOD instead? (p192)

As busy, invested moms, we all agreed that we are most stretched in parenting moments.  A variety of pressures “push our buttons” and leave us weary and depleted.  Sometimes, we want to yell in frustration, “why is this world so broken?” 

But we all agreed that GOD’s Spirit is so faithful, in His still small voice, to bring His words back to mind, to speak peace and calm over our swirling thoughts and emotions, and to point us to a better path through the hurdle in front of us.

Nancy Wolgemuth included many helpful examples on pp 148-149, describing how the Spirit brings Scripture to mind to redirect our flesh-fueled responses to real-life challenges or temptations. 

This was the Savior’s promise to us – that the Comforter would come to teach us all things and to remind us of what JESUS has taught us.  He will bring to mind the truth we need in any given moment.  May He help us to yield to His wisdom, allowing the fruit of His Spirit to be displayed in our lives.

.   .   .

Nancy Wolgemuth concluded this lesson with a final GRACE NOTE (p 192):

“Though we as redeemed sinners will fail many tests on this earth, we have a Savior who stands at the right hand of the Father interceding for us at this moment and every time we are tempted to resist the will of GOD. Put your trust in His triumphs on your behalf as you bow your head in glad surrender to His loving control.”

As we wrapped up our discussion, I was reminded of a powerful message spoken by Jackie Hill Perry, recorded at the recent Revive Our Hearts women’s conference.  Toward the end of her touching insights from John’s gospel, whose true desire was for others to come and see who JESUS is, Jackie urged her listeners to “Behold Him.”

“Behold Him – JESUS who is GOD, who was in the beginning with GOD.  JESUS, the Word who spoke all things into existence.  JESUS who took on flesh and dwelled among us.  JESUS who revealed the glory of GOD’s nature … Behold Him!  

Behold Him in the wilderness, being tempted but victorious.  Behold Him at tables with sinners.  Behold Him on mountains in prayer.  Behold Him as the Man of sorrows acquainted with grief.  Behold Him as He breaks the bread and pours the wine.  Behold Him as faithful, as true, as the way, since no man can come the Father but through Him.  

Behold Him as the suffering Servant.  Do you see Him?  There He is, in the garden asking the Father to take the cup, that cup that had GOD’s wrath for our sin in it.  The Word that was in the beginning with GOD and was about to be forsaken by the GOD He was always with – behold His love!  Behold Him as He absorbs the wrath of GOD so what we get is righteousness by faith.  Behold Him drinking the whole cup, paying the full price.  Behold Him saying, “it is FINISHED.”  

Behold Him who is the resurrection and the life.  Behold Him who has conquered the grave.  Behold Him who was obedient to death, even death on a cross.  Behold Him who is highly exalted.  Behold Him, the Name that should be in our mouths.  Behold Him, the Name that is above every other name, that at the Name of JESUS, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST is LORD to the glory of GOD the Father.  Do you see Him yet?”

With tears streaming down her face, Jackie continued, “We are so easily distracted.  We are so fascinated by the world.  We are so caught up in things that cannot change us and people who cannot save us and things that cannot deliver us and personalities that did not die for us.  What would happen if we behold Him?  

What would happen when you are in pain and you behold Him?  What would happen when you are frustrated and you behold Him?  What would happen when you are betrayed and you behold Him?  What would happen when you have a besetting sin that makes you believe that the blood doesn’t still work but you choose to behold Him?  What happens when GOD has called you to a ministry where people want you to preach everything but JESUS and you have to remember that your job is to preach the gospel so that people will behold Him?  What happens when you are weary in prayer?  You must behold Him!  …

Why do you think you were made?  Why do you think you were created, if not to behold Him?  I believe the LORD wants to take us back to the main thing, which is to behold Him!

We will remain the same if we don’t behold Him.  We need mercy.  We need the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do.  I don’t know the last time you got on your face, but sometimes we have to be desperate enough in our bodies so our hearts will remember what we were called to do, which is surrender.  Oh LORD, help us see You!”

If we could just behold Him, our eyes firmly fixed on JESUS, losing sight of all else, would we not fall at His feet, all questions erased from our minds, any resistance melted away?  Would we not simply say with Thomas, “My LORD, and my GOD” … “I’m Yours”?